


Runaway Royalty

by SherlockianWhovian



Series: Tumblr Works [8]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Mermaid Emma, Prince Killian, Royalty AU, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 02:02:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20399848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockianWhovian/pseuds/SherlockianWhovian
Summary: The suggestion of an arranged marriage sends Prince Killian seeking the sea for solace, only to end up caught in a storm and stuck in enemy waters.





	Runaway Royalty

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the csprompter Tumblr prompt: In NO way does Prince Killian want to deal with his kingdom or be forced into an arranged marriage. So instead he chooses to spend the day sailing and debates whether he should just disappear over the horizon. Unfortunately a storm makes the decision for him blows him off course into unknown waters. When he comes to he finds he's being robbed by a mermaid.

“An arranged marriage?” Prince Killian hissed when he heard his father’s words.

“Did I say those words, Killian? This would be a union between two great kingdoms-” King Brennan replied calmly.

“Aye, I heard you the first time.”

“For goodness sake, how many times do I have to tell you not to use ‘aye’ here? You’re a Prince, ‘yes’ is the correct word. I knew giving you that boat was a bad idea, you’ve been uncontrollable since then.”

“She’s a _ship_!” the Prince growled in response, “Does Liam know about this arranged marriage idea of yours?”

“Your brother doesn’t need to be bothered with something as trivial as this. He’s learning how to rule and you should be doing your utmost to help him, not causing trouble at every opportunity. This union will provide both kingdoms with safety and stability, it’ll give us another ally and prevent war.”

“Is it not enough that I’m the spare? That I’ll be stuck living in this world without ever having a true role? Must you trade me away too?”

“Don’t be so dramatic. It’s not as if you’d be sent away somewhere.”

“You’re trading my happiness, my life!”

“I’m doing what needs to be done for the kingdom! You selfish boy, have you ever stopped to consider that the world might not revolve around you? We have to make decisions and sacrifices that we may not want to, that’s our job as the royal family.”

Killian shook his head in frustration, unable to comprehend that the future he’d dreamed of was now being ripped away from him. He wanted to marry for love, but instead he’d be forced to spend his life with someone he possibly had no feelings for whatsoever. He turned away from his father and began to walk towards the door that led out of the King’s private chambers.

“Killian! Killian, come back here!” Brennan called after his son, “This conversation isn’t over!”

-

“Sir? Captain? Prince Killian!” the first mate called with concern from the gangplank, desperate to get the man’s attention.

“I’ve told you not to call me that aboard the ship, Mr Smee.” the Prince muttered, continuing with his task without looking up.

“Sir, it looks as though you’re preparing to sail. Shall I get the crew together? It’s a little short notice but-”

“I’m going out alone today.”

“Alone? But Sir, if the King found out we’d let you do that then we’d be sent to hang!”

“Then say you didn’t see me. I need time and space to think and amongst the waves is the only place that I can do that. Go back to the tavern and that’s an order, Smee.”

“Yes, Captain.” the first mate sighed, reluctantly backing away and letting the other man continue his preperations to leave.

When everything was in place, Killian raised the anchor and moved to the helm to begin steering the ship out of the harbour. His beloved Jewel of the Realm was made from enchanted wood, enabling him to sail her without a crew when necessary.

“Let’s go, love.” he murmured, taking hold of the spindles on the ship’s wheel, “You never know, we might find a place so great that we never have to return here at all.”

-

“Bloody hell!” Killian gasped as high winds and rough seas caused the ship to bounce and sway around. He tied himself to the helm, using all of his strength to keep the Jewel as steady as he could, no longer even considering his planned route. Both his and his vessel’s survival were more important than the direction he was sailing in, so he forced himself to do everything and anything to prevent her taking on water.

A particularly violent wave crashed into the side of the ship and the force of it caused his head to collide with one of the hard spindles on the helm. For a moment, he saw stars in his vision and then everything went black.

-

When he eventually came to, he was lying on his back on the upper deck with the sun warming his face. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair and he allowed himself a moment to thank the gods for his survival. Somehow, both he and the Jewel had made it out of the storm alive. He knew there was probably damage for him to fix on the ship, but at least she was still afloat.

As more and more awareness returned to him, he realised that there were gentle hands moving over his body. Was someone checking him for injury? No, he realised as his pocketwatch was pulled from his shirt, he was being robbed! He grabbed the thief’s hand at the same time as he sat up, fully expecting to find himself face to face with a pirate.

Shockingly, it was a stunningly beautiful mermaid instead. Killian had never considered love at first sight to be real, but in that moment he swore that it was. She was an angel with blonde hair and a tail with deep emerald scales. The only thing that was less than angelic about her was her sharp teeth that were suddenly biting into his wrist.

“No need for that!” he yelped, letting her go and pulling his hand and arm out of reach before her teeth could cause him any real damage.

“What do you want with us?” she demanded, drawing a knife from somewhere and pointing it at him, “You’re in our waters, human. Explain yourself!”

“This is mermaid territory? I never knew that you truly existed never mind had a territory!” Killian exclaimed with a grin. It had been his boyhood dream to discover a new land and he’d finally done it!

“I will kill you.” the mermaid hissed menacingly.

“I know, lass.” he replied, raising his hands a little in surrender, “I’m not a theat. I was caught in a storm and must have been brought into your waters. If you’ll give me a little time to check my ship over then I’ll be on my way.”

“You are King Brennan’s son.” she stated with a frown, studying his face, “Yet you are not here to kill us?”

“No.” he reassured her gently, “I was actually attempting to get away from my father for a day or two when the storm got me. I’m Killian, the spare to the throne of Misthaven.”

“Emma.” she introduced herself, putting the knife away and making her way to the rail. She turned back to him before she jumped into the water, “Your ship has damage that will prevent it from sailing.”

“Thank you.” he called after her, both confused and amazed by her. Clearly she’d chosen not to kill him, but how long would he be allowed to stay in mermaid waters before they’d change their mind? He slowly got to his feet and stretched, wincing as bruised and sore spots revealed themselves. There would be time for rest later, for now he had to repair his Jewel.

-

Killian worked day and night for two days straight, determined to get sailing once more. He spent most of his time in the water, diving below to fix holes in the hull before scrambling to the surface for desperate bursts of air. He could feel eyes on him at all times and occasionally he saw flashes of tails at the edge of his vision, but he felt safe enough as long as it was clear that he was working to leave their waters.

As he came back up for another intake of air, he realised that he’d need to rest soon. His arms and legs were exhausted from constant swimming and his eyes felt like they were burning from lack of sleep. He turned onto his back to float for a short while, taking the pressure off his weary limbs. He didn’t realise he’d drifted off to sleep in the calm water until he was dropped onto his own deck by Emma.

“Do you have a death wish?” she snapped at him, “Humans are supposed to rest regularly not sleep in the seas when they collapse from exhaustion!”

“I’m sorry, I’m trying to get out of your waters as soon as I can.” he murmured, attempting to get to his feet, “It shouldn’t take me too much longer…”

“Sit.” she instructed with a roll of her eyes, picking up his tools and planks of wood before she dived off the side of the ship once more. She was back within a few minutes, shoving his things down and moving herself towards him, “Done. There are no more holes.”

“I should probably have asked you to help me two days ago.” he admitted with a weak smile, too tired for any real attempts at humour.

Her annoyance gave way to concern and she reached out to touch his forehead, “You should rest now, you’re too warm.” she said, “My father won’t allow harm to come to you.”

“Your father? Why?” he asked, barely noticing as she transported them to his cabin with a flick of her wrist. Maintaining a conversation and thinking on her words was taxing enough for his exhausted mind.

“Your King is aware of our existence and our two kingdoms are working on a treaty.” she explained, “Your death in our waters could jeopardise that.”

“My King doesn’t care about me.” he muttered, “He wants to trade me away for a union between two kingdoms. I don’t even know what kingdom he’s talking about. Can you imagine anything worse than an arranged marriage?”

“Perhaps it won’t be too bad.” she said before she left him, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

-

“Where the hell have you been?” Prince Liam shouted as he strode aboard the Jewel of the Realm the moment the gangplank had been lowered.

Killian had slept for almost two days in his cabin and when he’d woken, he’d found that the rest of the ship’s damage had been fixed too. He’d thanked the seas, hoping that the mermaids would hear him, before he’d set sail for home. It had taken him a while to get to somewhere that he could find on a map, but finally he’d found his way home.

“Father thought you’d left for good or that you were dead! We were about to send a search party!” the older Prince continued, “You can just leave without telling anyone where you’re going, Killian.”

“Will you stop shouting?” the younger Prince sighed, “I got caught in a storm and it took me this long to repair the ship and sail back here.”

“Are you injured?” Liam asked, his anger mostly draining away as he approached his sibling, “You do look like you’ve been through hell.”

“Did you know that mermaids are real?” Killian asked, “I ended up in their territory and it’s them that helped me get the ship sorted.”

“I did.” the heir admitted, “We’re currently working on a treaty with them. I presume Father told you what he had in mind for you from this deal?”

“Wait, the arranged marriage was to a mermaid? Bloody hell! What mermaid?” the spare demanded.

“Emma, I think her name is. She’s the daughter of their King.” Liam replied, “Why? Does it matter?”

“Emma?” Killian repeated in amazement, “You’re sure her name was Emma?”

Suddenly his arranged marriage didn’t seem like such a bad idea.


End file.
